• Energy Research

In this study, we investigated the modelling and optimization of drinking water supply system reliability in the village of Zaben, Czech Republic. An in depth overview of the water supply network in the municipality, passport processing and accident and malfunction recording is provided based on data provided by the owner and operator of the water mains as well as the data collected by our own field survey. Using the data processed from accident and failure reports in addition to water main documentation, the water supply network in Zaben was evaluated according to the failure modes and effects analysis methods. Subsequently, individual water supply lines were classified based on their structural condition. In addition, a proposed plan for financing the reconstruction of the water supply mains in Zaben was created. As such, this study provides an overall assessment of the water supply network in Zaben alongside a proposed plan for the structural restoration of the water supply system, which accounts for the theoretical service life of the system and the financial resources of the owner.

Valuation of single-family detached houses is necessary when determining the amounts of some taxes. The current systems of the Czech Republic are outdated in this respect, and they are based on procedures used in the 1980s. The values found do not correspond to current market conditions very often. This article attempts to verify the applicability of a methodology where the value of a detached house is decomposed into the value of the land and the value of the object as such when considering wear. For verification, 122 sales of detached houses in Ostrava and its surroundings were analyzed, and the results show that the values determined by the verified methodology do not differ by more than 10% from the actual sales prices in most cases. The methodology is very simple and practically applicable for users without deep knowledge of construction or valuation principles. It can be applied, for example, when calculating the bases of certain taxes or as an indicative guide for the pricing of real estate for sellers, buyers, real estate agents, etc.

The subject of the work is the research on relevant factors influencing participation in the success of brownfield revitalization, especially in the territory of small municipalities. Research has so far dealt with the issue of determining disparities in the municipalities of the Czech Republic, not excluding small municipalities, but their subsequent application has usually been presented in larger cities. The focus on smaller municipalities or cities was usually addressed only in general. The introduction provides an overview of theoretical knowledge in the field of brownfield revitalization. Defining the level of knowledge of the monitored issues is an essential step for the purposes of more effective determination of disparities. Disparities will be determined on the basis of information on localities that have been successfully revitalized. The identified disparities are then monitored in the territory of small municipalities. For the purposes of processing, it was determined that a small municipality or city is an area with a maximum of 5000 inhabitants. Using appropriately selected statistical methods, an overview of disparities and their weights is determined, which significantly affect the success of revitalization. In small municipalities, the issue of brownfields is not emphasized but, in terms of maintaining community strength and reducing population turnover, the reuse of brownfields is a crucial theme.

This article deals with the dynamics of territory development in the regional and municipal economy. The development of the territory is and has always been limited or restricted by the available sources of capital, the dynamics of its use, and the localization of its distribution in the chosen territory. Today’s limits are, under Czech conditions, laid down by the Building Act; namely, the land-use plan, the strategic plans for development, and the political mechanisms of the elected leaders. The verbalization of the democratization of the economy is swayed by the concepts of meritocratic holding and the attempts to create values, but also by already existing values. We interpret the term values as infrastructure developed in the past, but also as resources given by the natural, geographic, and other environments.

The problems that decision-makers face can escalate under imbalances, turbulent development, risks, uncertainties, disasters, and other influences. The development of processes in technical and economic structures is generally considered complex and chaotic, and it usually expands into innumerable dynamic influences. The paper focuses on the evaluation of the decision criteria choice structure, such as the factual cause of the consequences (e.g., future threats, opportunities, chances, occasion). It offers a graphical vision of the future forecast. It draws attention to prevention and prophylaxis versus criterion-generated time–space (TS). The paper deals with the question: Is it possible to choose and recommend the right time and place of process activities? The paper formulates a positive answer and illustrates a range of consequences. Developed activities (investment, production, etc.) take place in a defined TS; over time, they create new time-series states and expand the space by defining processes as a time series of activities. In a broader context, the article deals with the issue of the lifecycle of decision rules (dynamic proposal of opportunities) as the first step of decision making, i.e., the decision about the existence of opportunity. On the one hand, it respects static applications based on equilibrium states, while on the other hand, it draws attention to the need for a dynamic view of turbulent, dynamic, chaotic, and nonlinear phenomena.

One of the most common disciplines in a business or economic project is timing and resource review. Despite the frequency of use, the level of sophistication is not high enough to maintain its level of importance. Exceeding deadlines and non-compliance with contractual costs is more than common. Moreover, there are projects where uncertainties are a naturally accompanying phenomenon. Research projects, implementation of solutions in a time-limited situation, or in an environment of limited knowledge creates risk. Any project proposal faces future realization risks when its planning management does not know with certainty where the current risks and uncertainties may come from. Decision-making, risk management dynamics, and simulations have developed in recent decades into an erudite and useful discipline. The aim is to indicate how much of the time–cost schedule proposal is stable, controllable, and economically feasible. The approach is based on the idea that modern resource scheduling requires nonlinear dynamic calculating models and simulations. The methodology presented is based on the dynamics of underlying physical and economic processes that form a spatial pattern of a time series. The article’s objective is devoted to the early indication of a dynamic project schedule’s instability and predisposition to bifurcation and chaos. In other words, the aim is to show not only what will happen but how diverse and damaging the project may become in the future.

Investment projects are not the only ones where significant complications in their implementation may occur. The fundamental question, how to specify threats hidden in time series, is one of the most important types of knowledge arising from the basic schedules’ documentation. Feasibility studies, project proposals, organizational and production procedures, research projects, and others are major resources of information. The reason why to specify threats hidden in time series is the high cost of not revealing hidden threats. An illustrative clarification of the cost is given on the current data of nuclear power plants. Wherever one works with schedules and resources, the above-mentioned issue may appear. Undeniably, valid data is discoverable ex post in accounting, documentation, or even in the documentation of the preparation and implementation, and in the analyzes of the mechanisms for non-compliance with deadlines and cost increases. For implementation (i.e., ex ante use), the majority of projects are created by expert intuitive decision-making. In terms of content, these are sources of errors from the past, lacking analytical quantitative support (suffering from the so-called evidence shortage). Production schedule time series comprise: (a) cumulative volume, (b) speeds, and (c) accelerations. More recent, in addition to statistical analysis, is the focus on the long-term memory of time series and to the application of the Hurst exponent as indicators of predictability (ex-ante). This article offers a procedure for how to reveal hidden chaotic states in the time series of a project’s output information. If it is possible to find chaotic behavior in the output information, these states must be searched for and removed in the original source model—the implementation project. Exceeding contractual terms and implementation costs leads to a threat to the economic basis—the collapse of the initial idea of the project’s economy. As an example, nuclear power plant projects are shown. The article broadens the perspective of ex ante decision-making.